Dam forming device



June l0, 1958 R. L. GANN DAM FORMING DEVICE Filed Feb. 23, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEY LG'an/n M5 B Nu J un l l MW .Vm n* f -1w C .-.Hahn L O" mlm Mw Nn\ WNW .m\ mw. Nvu u', .mndv um. NM, Mw N* QM I B M .um QN m\ Nim .NR ...Tw w

Jue 10, 1958 R. L. GANNl DAM FORMING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1956 INVENTOR ELL. Ga, n n

R. L. GANN DAM FORMING DEVICE June l0, 1958 Filed Feb. 25, 1956 K 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 NVENTOR Hl/.G 11n ATTORNEY Unite States Patent G l DAM FORMING DEVICE Ruben L. Gann, Ballinger, Tex. Application February 23, 1956, Serial No. 567,243

2 Claims. (Cl. 97-55) This invention relates to a device adapted to be attached to foot pieces of cultivators and listers to be propelled thereby for forming dams equal distances apart and of substantially uniform height in furrows and also on top of beds for holding moisture where most needed to :be beneficial to a seed bed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dammer having novel means for varying the height of dams formed thereby and which may be adjusted for forming dams of desired heights in either hard orloose soil.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device capable of supporting a plurality of dammer blades in different horizontally and vertically adjusted positionsl relative to one another for forming dams atdiferent spaced intervals simultaneously and for selectively forming dams of different heights.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dammer attachment including means for periodically elevating the dam forming element and permitting adjustment to vary the extent that said dammer forming elementis elevated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dammer attachment having yieldable means urging a frame portion of the attachment downwardly for maintaining dammer forming means carried thereby in operative ground engaging position and which frame portion is capable of upward swinging movement to enable the dammer forming means to pass over an obstruction.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide means for selectively regulating the extent of downward displacement of the dammer forming means to thereby regulate the height of the dams formed therebyl irrespective of the type of soil in which the attachment is operatmg. V

Still'another object of the invention is to provide a dammer attachment which is so constructed that connection thereof to a cultivator or lister foot piece will not unduly burden such part due to the fact that the attachmen-t is substantially self-supported.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will here inafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings,V illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing4 the dammer attachment operatively connected to a lister foot piece;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof showing the dammer attachment disconnected from the lister foot piece and including an auxiliary dam forming attachment;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dam forming device, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 2, showing the device attached to the lister foot piece;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 2; Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary'4v vertical sectional view, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 6-6 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a cross sectional view through a portion of the ground and showing the contouring of the ground, on a reduced scale, effected by the damming device;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevational View, partly in vertical section, of the forward end of a slightly modi- `tied form of the dammer device;

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 9--9 of Figure 8;

Figure l0 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating a modification of a part of the dammer;

Figure l1 is a sectional View thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated Aby the line 11--11 of Figure 10, and

Figure l2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of an attachment for the dammer.

Referring more specically to the drawings and rst with reference to Figures l to 6, the damming device as therein illustrated is designated generally 15 and includes a mounting unit, designated generally 16, including a bar 17 having an end 18 which is angularly disposed relative to 4the remainder of said bar and which is adapted to bear against the back edge or side of a lister foot piece 19. The lbar portion 18 has an aperture 20, as seen in Figure 2, to` receive the nut and bolt fastening 21, by which a lister blade 22 is fastened to the forward side of the foot piece 19. The bar 17 is thus secured to the rear side 'of the foot piece 19, near the lower end thereof. The bar 17 extends upwardly and rearwardly at an oblique angle from its end lti and relative to the foot piece 19, as seen in Figure l. A sleeve member 23 is suitably secured to the bar 17 adjacent its opposite end and crosswise thereof. A second sleeve 24 is secured to the bar 17 and crosswise thereof, between the sleeve 23 `and the bar end 18. A bolt 25 extends through the sleeve 24 for mounting a pair of brace members 26. The bolt 25 extends through said brace members 26 adjacent corresponding ends thereof, and a nut 27 is applied to the threaded end of said bolt for clamping the brace members 26 between the ends of the sleeve 24 and said nut 27 and the head of the bolt 2S, and outwardly with respect to the side edges of the bar 17, as seen in Figure 2. The braces 26 straddle an upper portion of the foot piece 19 and are provided with slots 29 to receive a clamping fasteningl 30, by which the braces 26 are adjustably clamped to the upper portionl of the foot piece 19 for supporting and bracing the upper rear end of the mounting unit 16. The mounting unit 16 also includes a pair of Vtransversely spaced bars 31 which are suitably secured to and extend rearwardly from an intermediate portion of the bar 17. The 'bars 31 are disposed at an angle to the upper rear portion of the bar 17, with their longitudinal axes normally disposed in substantially a horizontal plane and in spaced apart side by side substantially parallel relation to one another.

The damming device 15 includes a frame, designated generally 32, including a forward section, designated generally 33, and a rear section, designated generally 34. Said forward frame section 33 includes a pair of spaced substantially parallel bars 35 having forward end portions which loosely straddle the ends of the sleeve 2.3 and the rear part of the bar 17, as seen in Figure 2. A bolt 36, of a nut and bolt, fastening, extends through the forward ends of the bars 35 and loosely through the sleeve 23 for swingably mounting the forward end of the frame 32 on the mounting unit 16. A plate 37 bridges the bars 35 and is secured thereto near their forward ends. A rod 38 extends loosely through a slot 39 of the plate 37 and has an eye 40 at its lower end which tits loosely between the rear end portions of the bars 31 and isfr connectedone another.

3 v thereby by a pin or the like 41, which extends through said bars 31 and loosely through the eye 40. An expansion coil spring 42 is disposed on the rod 38, above the plate 37 between an upper washer 43 and a lower washer 44, through each of which the rod 38 slidably extends. The lower washer 44 rests on the plate 37 and covers the slot 39, which extends longitudinally of the frame 32. An upper collar 45 is adjustably secured to the rod 38 above and in engagement lwith the upper washer 43 to regulate the tension of the spring 42, and a lower collar 46 is adjustably secured to the rod 38 below and normally,

spaced from the plate 37, to limit the extent of downward swinging movement of the frame section 33 relative to the mounting unit 16. The collars 45 and 46 may be adjustably secured to the rod 38 in any suitable manner as by means of setscrews 47.

. The rear frame section 34 likewise includes a pair of spaced substantailly parallel-bars or sill members 48' having forward ends which are looosely straddled by the rear ends of the bars 35 and connected thereto by a nut and bolt fastening 49, the bolt of which extends loosely through said overlapping bar ends. A spacing sleeve 50 is mounted on the fastening 49 between and in engagement with the bars 48. Y t

The bars 35 on their inner sides and between the rod 38 and fastening 49 are each provided with a pair of spaced vertically extending ribs 51, which ribs of the two bars 35 are disposed in opposed relation to one another to provide opposed grooves 52 therebetween for slidably accommodating portions of the side edges of a vertical plate member 53. A relatively long sleeve 54 has an intermediate portion secured to or formed integral with the bottom edge of the plate 53 and is disposed beneath and crosswise of the framesection 33 and extends outwardly from each side thereof, as seen in Figure 2. The sleeve member 54 provides a bearing or journal for an axle 55 which extends loosely therethrough and to beyond the ends thereof. The bolt of a nut and bolt fastening 56 extends loosely through the bars 35 adjacent the channels 52 and is adapted to be tightened for flexing the parts of the bars 35 having the ribs 51 toward one another for clamping the plate 53 therebetween and in different vertically adjusted positions of said plate relative to the frame section'33, for varying the elevation of the axle 55, relative to the frame section 33.

A bridging element 57 extends between and is secured to the bars 35, near their upper edges and between the fastening 49 and ribs 51. A standard member 58 is fixed to and rises from the member 57.

A pair of corresponding wheels 59 are detachably fixed to the axle 55, beyond the ends of the bearing 54. Each wheel 59 includes a hub 60 which is secured nonrotatably to the axle 55 by a fastening 61. Each wheel 59 includes a plurality of spokes 62, a spoke 63 and a spoke 64, which spokes are equally spaced circumferentially from The spokes 62 are of the same length. The spokes 63 and 64 are disposed adjacent one another and are longer than the spokes 62. The spoke 64 is of a length greater than the length of the spoke 63. A bar forming a shoe 65 extends between and is Ysecured to the spokes 63 and 64 near their distal ends and includes a band 66 located adjacent the spoke 64 and which is outwardly offset relative to the remainder of the shoe 65. The spokesl 63 and 64 are disposed in transverse alignment to one another and the spokes 63 are disposed in advance of the spokes 64 relative to the direction of rotation of the wheels 59 when the dammer 15 is moving in a forward direction or from right to left, as seen in Figures l and 3.

A supporting member or hanger 67 has an upper end disposed between and secured to the rear ends of the bars 48 and constitutes the rear end of the frame 32. A dammer blade or plate 68 has an upper intermediate portion disposed against the forward side of the depending lower portion of the hanger 67 and secured thereto by nut and bolt fastenings 69, which extend through said plate and through the hanger 67. As seen in Figure 3, a semi or partial sleeve member 70 is'secured to the back edge of the blade 68 near the bottom edge of said blade and midway of its side edges to slidably receive a pin 71 which extends downwardly therefrom. A setscrew 72 is carried by the part 70 to secure the pin 7l threin in different adjusted positions and with the lower end of the pin protruding different distances below the bottom edge of the blade 68. The pin 71 preferably has -a downwardly and rearwardly bent lower end 73.

A pin 74 extends between and is secured in the sills 48 intermediate of their ends. The pin 74 extends through an end portion of a brace 75 for swingably mounting the brace in the frame section 34. The brace 75 extends upwardly and forwardly from the pin 74 and is provided `adjacent its opposite end with a longitudinally extending slot 76 for receiving a clamping fastening 77 whiclrextends through the upper part of the standard 58 and by which the brace 75 can be adjustably clamped to the standard 58 for securing the frame section 34 with its axis at different vertical angles relative to the axis of the frame section 33.

A crossbeam 78 of angle iron has a bottom flange 79 and an upstanding rear flangeV 80. The bottom flange 79, intermediate of its ends, is provided with a block 81 which is suitably secured to the underside thereof and which is sized to fit snugly between portions of the sills' of said sills and crosswise thereof when the fastening 82 is tightened.-

Cross members, as seen in Figures 4 and 5, are secured across the edges of the flanges 79 and 80, adjacent the ends of the beam 78. Said cross members 84 have setscrews 85 extending through the intermediate portion thereof, adapted to be tightened for clamping rods 86 adjustably in the ends of the beam 78 and longitudinally thereof, as best seen in Figure 5. As seen in Figure 4, the rods 86 have sleeve members fixed to the outer ends thereof, transversely of said rods. The sleeve members 87 carry setscrews 88 and are normally disposed in substantially vertical positions. Supporting shanks 89 are adjustably secured in the sleeves 87 by the setscrews 88 for adjustably supporting auxiliary dammer blades 90 which are fixed to and depend from lower portions of the shanks 89, as best seen in Figure 4.

Assuming that the damming device 15 is assembled and attached to the foot piece, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, and as previously described, the frame 32 thereof will be supported by the wheels 59 and will be yieldably urged downwardly by the pressure of the spring 42 but limited in its downward swinging movement on the pivot 36 by the adjustable stop 46. The blade 68 is disposed in alignment with the lister blade 22 to travel in the furrow thereof. As the dammer 15 moves from right to left behind the foot piece 19, the wheels 59 will turn counterclockwise as seen in Figures l and 3, the frame 32 being supported by the wheel spokes engaging the ground G, on each side of the furrow. The distal ends of the spokes will penetrate to a limited extent into the ground to insure traction for rotation-of the-wheels 59. As the wheel spokes 63 move downwardly into ground engaging positions, as seen in Figures 1 and 3, the frame 32 will be lifted, swinging upwardly on its pivot 36 against the action of the spring 42 and thereafter further lifted as the shoe portions 66 and the outer ends of the spokes 64 assume ground engagingpositions, for raising the blade 68 to leave a dam formed by the earth which had previously accumulated in front of said blade while in a lowered furrow scraping position as seen in Figures l and 3. As

will resumeV its position of Figures l and 3 so that the blade 68 will commence to accumulate dirt for another Thus, spaced dams will be formed in the furrow opened by the blade 22. Additionally, if desired, dams in shallow ditches may be formed on either side of the furrow by the two blades 90 which are adjusted to form shallow parallel ditches in the seed bed B on either side of the furrow F, being formed by the blade 22, andv in which the dams D are being formed by the blade 6,8'. The blades 90 can be adjusted by raising or lowering the Shanks 89 to vary the depth of the ditches A, as seen in Figure 7. It will also be apparent that when the frame 32 is raised, the blades 90 will also be raised to leave dams C, at spaced points along the ditches A. Obviously, the crossbeam 78 and parts carried thereby can be detached from the frame section 34 where it is not desired to provide the ditches A'and dams C which, however, are very beneficial in collecting surface water for increasing the'` moisure content of the bed B between the furrows F. Also, if desired, a single blade 90 may be employed on one side only of the frame 32.

The depth of the blades 68 and 90 in their operative positions may be quickly and easily varied by loosening the fastening 77 and raising or lowering the frame section 34 relative to the frame section 33, after which the fastening 77 can be tightened to maintain the frame section 34 in its readjusted position. The pin portion 73 prevents the blade 68 from completely scraping the bottom of a furrow and additionally provides an element disposed to strike any obstruction approached by the blade 68 and which part 73 will ride over the obstruction for causing the frame 32 to swing upwardly on its pivot 36 to prevent damage to the blade 68. lt will also be apparent that the shoe member 65 will effectively prevent the outwardly offset eccentric portions of the wheels from sinking to any considerable extent into soft earth to thus insure elevation of the frame and blades to form the dams.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate a slightly modified form of the mounting unit designated generally 16a and which is particularly adapted for use with a cultivator foot piece 19a. The bar 17a of the mounting unit 16a has substantially parallel forward and rear end portions 18a and 18h, respectively, which are angularly disposed relative to an intermediate portion 18C of the bar 17a. The part 18a is attached by a fastening 21a to the foot piece 19a, in the same manner that the part 18 is attached to the foot piece 19 by the fastening 21. A sleeve 23a is xed to the bar portion 18h and crosswise thereof and functions in the same manner and for the same purpose as the sleeve 23, as previously described. A pair'of bars 31a are fixed to and extend rearwardly from the lower part of the bar portion 18h, and functions in the same manner and for the same purpose as the bars 31.

The bar portion 18C has a lateral extension 91 through which a threaded hook shank portion 92 loosely extends. Nuts 93 threadedly engage the shank portion 92 and abut upper and lower sides of the extension 91, for adjustably securing the hook shank thereto. The upper hook portion 94 is adapted to engage over a conventional part 95 of the cultivator foot piece and by which the mounting unit 16a is partially supported and braced.

Figure 12 illustrates an extension bar 96 having an apertured upper portion 97 which is adapted to be disposed against and secured to the forward side of the bar portion 1S as, for example, by means of a fastening 98. The lower, forwardly offset apertured end 99 of the extension 96 is adapted to be secured to the foot piece 19 by the fastening 21, in the position occupied by the bar portion 18, in Figure l. The extension 96 is adapted to be utilized for upwardly offsetting, the mounting unit 16 and frame 32 where the foot piece is lowered substantially so that the blade thereof can cut a deep furrow. It will be readily apparent that the extension 96 is equally well adapted for use with the mounting unit 16a.

Figures and 1l illustrate another form of wheel, a

. 59a than the other end thereof.

pair of which may be utilized in lieu of the wheels 59. The wheels 59a, one of which is shown in Figures l0 and 11, is of disk form having a central hub 60a intended to be secured to the axle in the same manner as the hubs 60. The periphery of the disk wheel 59a yis provided with a series of circumferentially spaced notches 62a extendingV preferably around more than three quarters of the periphery thereof. The peripheral disk parts located between the notches 62a are bent outwardly, alternately in opposite directions, to form the staggeredly arranged laterally extending flanges 63a.

A plate 64a is pivotally connected to and disposed against one side of the wheel 59a by a single fastening 65a, `which is located nearer the hub 60a than the periphery of the wheel 59a. The plate 64a increases in width from its inner toward its outer end. The outer end of said plate 64a is disposed beyond the periphery of the wheel 59a and has a laterally turned flange 66a forming a shoe which projects from the outer side of said plate 64a and which includes angularly disposed end portions of different lengths forming 4an outwardly offset bent portion 6617, similar to the part 66. The plate 64a intermediate of its ends, is provided with an arcuate slot to loosely engage the bolt of a clamping fastening 101, which extends through and is mounted in the wheel 59a and which is adapted to be tightened for adjustably positioning the plate 64a relative to the wheel 59a, by means of which the spacing between the axis of the wheel and various portions of the flange 66a is adjusted.

As seen in Figure 10, the right-hand end of the flange 66a is disposed substantially nearer the axis of the wheel Said right-hand end constitutes the leading end of the flange when the wheel is turning in its normal counterclockwise direction of Figure 10 and functions, like the spoke 63 for gradually clevating the frame.

The notches 62a increase the traction of the wheel 59a together with the staggered flanges 63a. The flanges 63a additionally function to prevent the Wheels 59a from sinking into soft earth.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter delined by the -appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dammer device of the character described comprising a mounting unit having a forward end, means detachably securing said forward end to the rear side of a foot piece of an agricultural implement, said mounting unit having a rear end upwardly offset relative to the forward end thereof, an elongated frame including a forward section and a rear section, means connecting the forward end'of said forward frame section to the upper rear end of the mounting unit for vertical swinging movement of the frame relative to the mounting unit, a bearing supported by the forward frame section and disposed transversely thereof and behind and spaced from the mounting unit, an axle journalled in said bearing, wheels fixed to the ends of said axle and spaced outwardly from the sides of the frame and providing ground engaging supporting wheels for the frame, said wheels having aligned outwardly offset eccentric portions for intermittently elevating the frame on its pivotal connection to the mounting unit, a hanger fixed to and depending from the rear end of the rear frame section, a dam forming blade secured to and depending from said hanger adapted to travel in a furrow over which the frame is moving, said dammer blade being intermittently raised by upward swinging movement of the frame for releasing earth -accumulated in advance thereof for forming spaced dams in the furrow, and a hook shank adjustably connected to an intermediate portion of the mounting unit and extending upwardly therefrom and having a downwardly opening hook at the upper end thereof adapted to engage over a assignee cultivator foot piece spring forl supporting the rear portion of the mounting unit.

` 2. A dam forming device comprising a mounting unit having a forward end, means detachably securing said forward end to the rear side of a foot piece of an agricultural implement, said mounting unit having a rear end upwardly offset relative to the forward end thereof, an elongated frame including a forward section and ya rear section, means connecting the forward end of said forward frame section to the upper end of the mounting unit for vertical swinging movement of the frame relative to the mounting unit, a bearing supported by the forward frame section and disposed transversely thereof and behind and spaced from the mounting unit, an axle journalled in said bearing, wheels xed to the ends of said axle and spaced outwardly from the sides of the frame and providing ground engaging supporting wheels for the frame, said wheels having aligned outwardly olset eccentric portions for intermittently elevating the frame on its pivotal connection to the mounting unit, a hanger xed to and depending from the rear end of the rear frame section, a dam forming blade secured to and depending from said hanger adapted to travel in a furrow over which the frame is moving, said dammer blade being intermittently raised by upward swinging movement of the frame for releasing earth accumulated in advance thereof for forming spaced dams in the furrow, means pivotally connecting the forward end of said rear frame section to the rear end of the forward frame section for vertical swinging movement of the rear Aframe section, and means connecting and retaining the frame sections in different angularly adjusted positions relative to one another to position the rear frame section as a straight or upwardly or downwardly inclined extension of the forward frame section for varying the operating depth of the dam forming blade.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

